Aaron Armstrong's Blog, page 8

The Bible is too inexhaustibly interesting to be boring

Before I was a Christian, I didn’t really know much about the Bible. Which makes sense, since I didn’t read it. But I had a lot of assumptions about it, the same assumptions many non-Christians have about it. I assumed it was endlessly contradictory, outdated, and irrelevant. That nothing it said really mattered to life in the modern world. Most importantly, because I saw the few people I knew whose parents made them go to some kind of class at their church were bored to tears, I assumed the Bi...

3 resolutions that really do matter in 2024

2024 is here, and with it… Well, it’s about the same as yesterday really. At least for the moment because, as those of us who live in the United States know all too well already, 2024 is going to be a wild ride.1

But with the start of a new year comes a new opportunity to reflect on how we live out our faith.2 To pursue Jesus more faithfully and love others more consistently when we’re constantly tempted to forsake both. To embrace a faux-Christianity that has no power or value in the world...

Pause and join in the chorus

I confess that I was not planning to write anything particularly long or profound this morning. Indeed, “Merry Christmas” was the bulk of my planned message. The Lord, it seems, had other plans, though I make no claims on its profundity.

I shared in a recent post about the need to celebrate with as much cheer as we have. Because, for many, the joy of Christmas is mixed with tears. And I found myself considering this anew on Christmas Eve, for reasons that are not mine to share.

The song ...

You are not your accomplishments

At the end of the calendar year, many of us tend to get a bit introspective and/or navel-gazy. We consider our accomplishments; where we’ve succeeded, and where we’ve fallen short. Perhaps we wanted to read a certain number of books this year, read the Bible in full, or complete a project. Maybe we got up the courage to do something we had never done before.

Whatever the case, there are some areas where we feel pretty great about ourselves. There are also some where we are consumed with how...

Celebrate Christmas with the cheer you have

The common portrayal of the Christmas season is a time of cheer and merriment. Of glad tidings, great joy, and goodwill toward all people. But the truth is, for a lot of people, Christmas is incredibly difficult. Relational difficulties, divorce, or the death of a spouse or other loved one. Financial challenges and job losses. Natural disasters. The fear and anxiety the state of the world brings.

Christmas is not easy, and no one should be expected to put on a brave face and fake it till the...

My favorite books of 2023

It’s that time of year when book enthusiasts everywhere humblebrag about the books we enjoyed! I am, of course, no exception to this, with this being my thirteenth annual compilation.

As always, my reading spans genres and mediums, so this list does not represent a single focus. Some were published before 2023. Even so, I think they’re pretty rad. So, without further ado, here are my favorite books of 2023—or at least the ones that most stuck with me.

Faith, Formation, & Spiritual Me...

Ministry planning and prayers for 2024

For most of my life as a Christian, my ministry plans were pretty simple: do whatever the Lord calls me to do. On the surface, this worked well for many years, but I was burning myself out. I was doing too much both in my professional and personal life.

My overarching ministry plan is still true. That probably will never change. However, now that I’m firmly in my middle-ages, I’ve found I have to run at a different pace (especially as someone who isn’t in full-time vocational ministry). I n...

How can we be thankful when things are a mess?

“Perfect,” I said to no one in particular on Saturday afternoon. “This is just perfect.” I got out of the car after I was rear-ended. The damage doesn’t seem too severe, and I’m thankful for that. The driver who hit me immediately owned it, and I’m thankful for that too.

But—and there’s always a “but”—it was yet another setback in a year filled with them.

I know I’m not alone in this of course. In fact, I’m sure that some of you reading this have experienced greater challenges that my fa...

The beauty and scandal of the creation story

Few portions of Scripture have been as hotly debated as the creation story of Genesis 1–2. Which is a shame, really, because the opening words of the Bible are beautiful.1

With language resembling a poem or a song, Genesis says God created the entire universe—simply by speaking. Over six days, God said, “Let there be.” And whatever he said, was. Light and darkness. Earth, sea, and sky. Grass, trees, and plants of all kinds (oh my). The sun and moon. (And the stars too.) Land animals, birds, ...

Embracing the unexpected paths our lives take

I did not expect the life I am living—it was not the plan. At all. That’s the general feeling that I have when I look at the direction my adult life has taken. Yet, here I am.

The vision I had for my life

When I was a teen, I wanted to be a storyteller, writing and drawing comic books.1 I was accepted as a student at a private school specializing in training artists for the field of comics. I wrote and drew constantly. In fact, my first published work is actually in an independently publ...